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Copyright Clearance Center opened the doors to its bi-ennial OnCopyright conference in late March to initi-ate a lively conversation on the theme Advancing the

Creative Economy. While more than 130 attendees were on hand at the Ker-

nochan Law, Media and the Arts Center at Columbia LawSchool in New York City, nearly 400 remote participants alsotook advantage of the live stream and video presentations viatheir desktops and iPads. And many attendees shared com-mentary via tweets about the ongoing conversation.

The daylong event touched on key copyright issues includ-ing remixing, infringement, piracy, and rights from disparateperspectives where art, law, and technology intersect. News-day columnist and OnCopyright 2012 program host Ellis Heni-

can pointed to technology and creativity as two critical valuesthat are clashing more frequently these days. Though some dis-ruption is inevitable in the marketplace, he said it’s importantto keep such disruption in check so it doesn’t hinder the cre-ative process.

Keynote speaker John Howkins spoke on topics relating tohis book, The Creative Economy: How People Make MoneyFrom Ideas. He focused on the value of the idea business: “Newideas, not money or machinery, are the source of success to-day,” he said, identifying the economic value of creative peo-ple, industries, and cities at a time “when intellectual prop-erty propels prosperity.”

Michele Woods, associate register for policy and interna-tional affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office, thinks “[A] lot of

the conversation is about copyright as a barrier and that’ssomething we really need to work to overcome,” she said, re-marking that “as one system [it] is a really positive force inthe U.S. economy and around the world.” She added that thepopularity of the U.S. entertainment products worldwide havehad a big impact in the U.S. creative economy where copy-righted works have been instrumental in taking the lead inworldwide distribution.

Piracy remains a global concern. Alfred Clinton Perry, vicepresident of worldwide content production and outreach atParamount Pictures, struck a chord that resonated with theaudience, saying that he doesn’t have any illusions about try-

Creative Themes inOnCopyright 2012

Singer/songwriter Erin McKeown said shedoes not live by copyright alone.She makes a living by teaching, playingmusic, and lecturing about it too.

ing to stop piracy. “Every business that’s selling something,tolerates some level of theft,” he said. “[W]hat concerns usis the vast and profitable commercialization on a scale thatis so threatening that it causes us to seek legislation andother redress.”

Robert Levine, author of Free Ride: How Digital ParasitesAre Destroying the Culture Business, and How the CultureBusiness Can Fight Back, concurs. “Traditionally, the culturebusiness always lived with a certain level of piracy,” he said.“That didn’t prevent them from making money, creating work,etc.” But he sees a tipping point when set prices shift substan-tially in a legitimate market, and he said he believes we’ve hitthat point. The line between a person’s right to remix and anartist’s right not to be remixed remains in contention.

Copyright issues clearly have an impact regardless of whichside of the fence you’re on. Filmmaker Kirby Ferguson, cre-

ator of “Everything Is a Remix,” doesn’t favor an end to copy-right, but he’s in favor of modifying the system. Copyright hold-ers don’t worry much about the laws until someone infringesupon their works, he said, adding that he is “not opposed topeople making a profit, but I don’t think you need two lifetimesof protection.”

Singer/songwriter Erin McKeown said she does not live bycopyright alone. She makes a living by teaching, playing mu-sic, and lecturing about it too. But when it comes to owningwhat she creates, she said she’s “not really any different thanthe farmer that owns their land. So I just want to be paid forthe cucumbers I grew.”

For more about OnCopyright 2012 and related copyrightissues, visit www.copyright.com. Copyright Clearance Centerprovided additional research for this report.

➥ BARBARA BRYNKO

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